This is War
by Storymwing
Summary: Loosely based off of the song by Thirty Seconds to Mars. A new threat appears to the Transformers. Can they fight it? Or will Starscream tear both factions apart?
1. The Good

"Warning! Decepticon activity in sector 6.80295," Telatraan-1's voice rang out over the bridge of the Ark.

Optimus Prime sighed. There had been peak Decepticon activity in the recent weeks, but the Autobots hadn't been able to catch them. He activated his comm link, "Prowl, Jazz, Wheeljack, Cliffjumper. Report to the bridge immediately."

There was a chorus of 'Yes sir's as his message was received. For once, the area was nearby, as well as underground, restricting the Decepticon's movement. They would be able to drive to the location, and intercept the Decepticons. As soon as the party assembled, they transformed, driving to the site in Colorado.

"I don't like the way this feels," Jazz commented as they were driving. He pulled up, aside Optimus.

"What do you mean?" Optimus replied.

"I mean, somethin' doesn't feel right. This whole disappearing raid thing."

"I'll keep that in mind," Optimus said, as they arrived at the site. A cave formation with coal deposits.

The group transformed to their bipedal forms, and entered the caves. They walked in a tight formation, weapons at the ready. They came to a cavern, and saw Decepticons milling about.

"What are they doing?" Cliffjumper asked.

"I don't know, nothing," Wheeljack replied.

"Oddly enough, yes," Prowl added.

"What, not knowing?" Jazz wondered.

"No, nothing," Prowl answered.

"It looks like Megatron, Soundwave, Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker," Optimus said, squinting to see. The group entered the cavern, and Optimus called, "Megatron! What are you doing here?"

"I should ask you the same thing Prime," Megatron replied.

"Explain," Optimus said, crossing his arms.

"We came here to see what was going on in the cave. We thought it was Autobot activity," Megatron sneered.

"But," Jazz whispered to Optimus, "We thought they were here for the coal."

"There's energy here?" Megatron started looking around.

"Megatron! Look out!" Starscream shrieked.

Megatron turned, and only had time to throw up his arms before he was tackled to the ground. Optimus stared in disbelief at the Lupine creature attacking Megatron's face, tearing his arm guards to shreds. It wasn't organic, Optimus' sensors told him it was fully metallic, similar to Cybertronian. A blast shook the cavern, as Megatron had finally gotten to a position to fight. Everybot stared as the now headless body crashed to the ground, Megatron shoving it off as he stood up.

"Starscream, that was unexpected," Megatron began, shaking the dripping Energon off of his hands, but he just stopped as Starscream began attacking the metal beast.

Starscream punched through its armor, kicked the corpse around, and blasted it until it was a smoldering mass. All the while, muttering unintelligibly.

"Screamer! What has gotten into you!" Thundercracker yelled, running forward and restraining the Air Commander.

"I hate them! Primus send them all to the pit! The Unmaker curse them for all eternity! DIE!" Starscream shouted in reply. Thundercracker was at a loss as to how to deal with Starscream's madness, and picked his best option. He punched Starscream upside the helm, knocking him out.

"There's not much left," Wheeljack said, bending beside the creature. Their imposing battle had been forgotten. "But I think me and Percy could piece it together."

"No," Megatron replied flatly, "I refuse to let it fall into Autobot servos. You could turn it into a wepon against us."

"And how do we know you wouldn't do the same?" Optimus pointed out.

"Suggestion," Soundwave spoke up, "Reach a favorable medium."

"There's no need," Starscream said, sitting up from where Thundercracker had dropped him.

"And why would that be?" Megatron asked angrily, still thrown off by Starscream's behavior earlier.

"Because this is not my first encounter with their race," Starscream replied tartly, glaring at Megatron.

"What is it?" Wheeljack asked, his curiosity genuinely piqued.

Starscream looked at him, before beginning his story, "Long ago, before the Great War, I worked with a group of scientists. We were exploring a planet, far, many galaxies, away from Cybertron. My colleagues and I landed, and were taking note of the local organic wildlife, when the planet's dominate species appeared. They were already highly advanced in the field of robotics, and so were fascinated by our abilities, and appearance. The only thing that had stumped them was they couldn't give their robots remote controls, they hadn't even thought of sentience. So, when they asked us who controlled us, and we attempted to explain our sentience, in a furious rage, they turned on us, and their machines attacked. So many of my friends died that day, and what was left barely escaped with our lives. If you Autobots don't believe me, ask Skyfire. He was there. Tell him, the Aemanites have come here."

As Starscream fell silent, everybot in the room stayed that way as well.

"Well, slag," Jazz said, breaking the silence, "What do we do?"

"They are out to destroy the entire Cybertronian race. Our sentience flattened the world they knew, and they loathe us for it. Currently they are targeting the biggest group first. They want to save the planet for last," Starscream replied bluntly, then adding, "Although I never knew they had space travel, though they probably could've discovered in a few million years."

"We need a strategy for combating this threat," Prowl said.

"I say we blow them back to their planet," Cliffjumper suggested.

"That would work, in a few cases," Starscream told him.

"Megatron," Optimus raised his voice, and all others fell silent, "I propose we create a medium, then regroup. We need to combat this threat."

The Autobots and Decepticons alike gasped at the suggestion.

"I… agree. I need to check the validity of this first, however," Megatron said, glaring at Starscream, who only glared back. "Prime, that carcass had better still be here when we come back."

"It will, I give you my word."

"Request: Leave guards," Soundwave suggested.

"Have Rumble and Frenzy remain," Megatron ordered. Soundwave ejected the two cassettes.

"Cliffjumper, you remain as well," Optimus ordered.

"Great, leave the little guy with the littler guys," Cliffjumper mumbled. Optimus ignored him.

"Same time tomorrow Prime?"

"You bet."

"Skywarp! Get your lazy aft into gear!"

"Zrk. What?" Skywarp replied. He'd been sleeping, standing up, since the attack was over.

"Decepticons! Return to base!"

Optimus watched them leave, then transformed and drove for Portland. He mulled over what had happened. Maybe, this could be the event to end the war, if they ended up working together.


	2. The Evil

"Skywarp, did you really have to fall asleep during that?" Thundercracker asked.

"Uh, yeah," Skywarp replied, "Screamer was boring me to death."

"Would you just shut up and fly? We're almost back to base," Starscream complained.

"Scrapper!" Megatron yelled into his Comm. Link, "Raise the entrance before we are short one moron!"

All five of them landed on the ledge protruding from the pillar that made up the entrance to their base. They entered as the pillar retreated into the ocean, leaving no sign of having ever been on the surface at all.

"So, what was going on in the cave?" Blitzwing asked, as the five entered the control room.

"Well, it wasn't the Autobots, that's for sure," Thundercracker said, leaving.

"Because it was Aemanites," Starscream finished.

"What's an Aemanite?" Astrotrain asked, entering after Thundercracker's wake.

"Apparently very unheard of," Megatron replied, glowering at Starscream.

"They lived a really long way from Cybertron," Starscream defended.

"Aemanite? I've heard of them. Lord Megatron, why are they in conversation?" Shockwave, on the screen not noticed until now, asked.

"Well, apparently, they're here, and this day can't possibly have anymore surprises," Megatron snapped, genuinely annoyed now.

"What! That's impossible! You need to vacate that area immediately!" Shockwave yelled, as much as he was able.

"Why."

"If they've discovered space travel, they are bringing an entire army! A massive warship! You will not be able to stand against them!"

"Well, you've checked the validity," Starscream mumbled, and Megatron threw the closest thing, happening to be Veiwfinder, at him.

"Alright, then we will. After we collect the casseticons, and research tomorrow."

"I will have the Space Bridge ready. Shockwave out."

Megatron just turned, and walked from the room. His mood had been darkening since the attack in the cave, and now it was at its lowest, darkest point it had probably been in centuries. It had been too long of a day, and he needed recharge _now_. It wasn't quite going to happen, as an instinct developed over millennia, caused him to turn and punch Starscream, who had been sneaking up behind him.

Megatron grabbed the seekers throat, lifting off the ground to where his pedes were kicking open air, growling, "This is one of my worst. Moods. Ever. If you weren't so valuable in the current situation, I would terminate you here and now. I am going to recharge, and if I see your face again, I will shoot it. Do you understand?"

Megatron tightened his grip to emphasize his point. Starscream nodded.

"Good." Megatron let go, leaving the seeker gasping in the hallway. He entered his quarters, just now noticing the gashes that had, for the most part, stopped seeping, and begun to heal. He decided to ignore it completely as he lay on his berth. He fell into recharge instantly.

He woke up the next morning, not feeling much better about this threat. He activated his Comm Link, "Soundwave, prepare a transmission to Shockwave. Then be ready to leave."

"Order: Acknowledged."

Megatron got up, and walked into the Control Room. He looked at the computer screen where Shockwave was waiting.

"Yes, my Lord?" Shockwave acknowledged him.

"Change of plans. You will come here, and we will deal with these Aemanites head on."

"But, Lord…"

"No. Get your aft out here," Megatron commanded as he ended the transmission. He turned on his Comm, "Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker, prepare to leave."

"Hold on a click," Skywarp replied. Megatron heard a distant crack, "Okay, coming." Skywarp appeared with a pop a moment later. Megatron raised an optic ridge at him, as they began walking to the hangar.

"Arm wrestling with Swindle," Skywarp mumbled. Megatron's questioning ridge went further up. "What! Brawl made a bet Swindle couldn't beat me."

Megatron decided to ignore him, and they met up with Starscream and Thundercracker on the way, while they met Soundwave at the hanger. The pillar was raised, and the five Decepticons left. They flew toward the cave, and Megatron did not expect Prime to go back on his word. The downfall of the Autobots. Megatron looked down and saw the same colored Autobots from yesterday, and deigned to fly above them. The two factions converged at the entrance, and each filed in behind their respective leader. They came to the cavern, and stopped in their tracks. There was no sign of the red Autobot or the Cassettes. They saw signs of a struggle however.

"Good ol' Cliffjumper," A white Autobot with a visor chuckled.

There were scorch marks everywhere, and cracks along the ground, and up the walls. There was also oil and Energon puddles on the ground.

"What happened here?" Someone voiced the question on everybot's mind.

"Well, the carcass is gone, whatever took it must've taken our bots too," Wheeljack said. Megatron actually knew that name, because he was usually the one to be avoided at all costs on the battlefield.

"Ravage, eject," Soundwave commanded. The cat came out snarling at the Autobots, but was silenced by a glare from Soundwave. "Request: An item with the Autobots' signature on it."

"I have a prototype cannon he tested a couple weeks ago," Wheeljack replied, pulling a ruined piece of metal from subspace.

Soundwave took it gingerly, inwardly worried it was still volatile, and held it for Ravage to find the signature.

"Why do you need Cliffjumper's signature?" a black and white Autobot asked, "Wouldn't Frenzy and Rumble's work well enough?"

"Response: For assistance in discovering, subsequently eluding, false trails."

Ravage snarled as the scent was picked up. The cat sprinted forward, stopping every now and then to sniff the cave walls. Everyone else followed at a more leisurely pace, due to Soundwave's ability to track Ravage. He led them through a twisting maze of tunnels and caverns, dead ends and forks. Hours later, when everybot was on the annoyed, or tired side, they arrived at an exit. Ravage had decided to wait for them at the mouth of the exit. When they came into view, Ravage turned to continue.

"Halt!" one word from Soundwave, and Ravage froze where he stood, perfectly statue still. All the bots froze too, although the black and white one cocked his gun, and Megatron shuddered at the memory of having been hit by a ricochet of that. Acid hurts.

Soundwave slowly crept forward, moving very similar to Ravage, when the cat was sneaking. He left the cave, and went a little way outside, before pulling a wire. The Autobots were stunned as a nasty snare activated inches in front of Ravage. If timed correctly, it was the kind of snare that would rip even the resilient Starscream to pieces. Now, that was a thought…

"They didn't bother to conceal themselves at this point," the black and white Autobot remarked, looking at the treeline. The trail only went a short way farther, before it became flattened, smoldering trees.

"They're gone," the visored Autobot commented.

"No," Starscream snapped, "These were just scouts. We have maybe two Earth days before the main force arrives, if I'm correct."

"We need to get our bots back," Optimus Prime spoke up, "We could also find out more about them on the rescue."


	3. The Soldier

Cliffjumper groaned as he came online. The beating he'd suffered at the Aemanites' hands had been severe. As his repair systems checked himself, he found he was still missing a good portion of his armor, and his vital joint gears had been moved out of position. He was still able to move his head, so he onlined his optics, and craned his neck to look around. Because his joints were currently out of commission, he was strapped loosely to some sort of half table, half berth. He changed his repair system's priorities. Over on the other side of the room, he saw Rumble and Frenzy similarly trapped.

They were both still offline, however.

Cliffjumper let his head thump back against the crude berth, trying to think. This was a new situation, and he didn't quite know how to respond. The weapons he'd been using were gone for sure, but he doubted they knew about his subspace compartment. He winced, as the first of his four joint gears popped back into place. Ratchet was gonna be so mad. Then, Rumble came online.

"Why can't I move?" he asked.

"Your joint gears have been dislocated," Cliffjumper replied, and wondered about Decepticon repair systems, but it wasn't quite important now.

"Well, slag," was Rumble's quiet reply. Then, "Yo! Frenzy! Wake up!"

"Shut up 'Wave!"

"Frenzy! Wake up!"

"Huh?" This time Frenzy actually woke up.

Cliffjumper's head snapped toward the door, as it opened with a sliding hiss. An Aemanite walked in. Aemanites were certainly a unique species in appearance. They were human-like in stature, but their arms came down a little past their knees. There was nothing adorning the slightly oversized head, and it wore simple clothing.

"So, you are all awake now," he began. "Cool."

"Cool? Why cool?" Cliffjumper asked, flustered. He tried to get a look at him. "I thought you hated us, and were gonna kill us all. How do you even know the word 'cool'?"

"Oh, we are going to kill you, it's just an honor for me to be the first to interact with your race. In reply to your question, we've studied the fascinating Earth life a little since we're here anyway, and we just picked up a few words," he replied.

Cliffjumper winced, as the second gear popped back into place. He needed to keep this guy talking.

"So, you've captured the three of us, what's gonna happen now?" Cliffjumper asked, stuck for a better question.

"Well, we're going to kill you, and then use your bodies for measurements in our smaller machines."

"Smaller machines! I'll have you know, I'm as big as they come!" Cliffjumper protested.

"But you're a Mini-" Frenzy started, only to be silenced by a glare.

The Aemanite didn't reply, only stared at Cliffjumper with an expression of disbelief. Cliffjumper winced as a third gear popped in, and the Aemanite's demeanor changed, because he probably thought Cliffjumper had winced under his stare.

"Yeah, the only bot taller than me is our leader," Cliffjumper continued, and thought he'd probably be getting in trouble for this later. "He's what they call an Omega Sentinel."

Cliffjumper tuned out the Aemanite's reply, and watched Frenzy and Rumble try to suppress laughter. They weren't quite making it though. In any case, his fourth gear popped back into place, and the level of pain in his frame dropped dramatically.

"Well, I gotta go. A people to massacre and all."

What luck. The Aemanite left. Cliffjumper sat up, and just ripped the straps off, as they provided no resistance.

"Woah, how'd you do that?" Rumble asked in awe.

"Doesn't matter," Cliffjumper replied, ripping their straps off. "We need to leave now."

"We can't move," Frenzy groaned.

"This is gonna hurt," Cliffjumper warned them, as he manually shoved the gears back into place. He had to give them credit, there was no sound. He was no medic, and there was no yelp or anything.

"Here," Cliffjumper murmured, handing each of the cassettes a pistol.

"What about our pile drivers?"

"Not on a spaceship."

"What're you gonna use?"

"Let's see…" Cliffjumper trailed off, as he opened his subspace. He reached all the way up to his still sore shoulder, looking for one in particular. "Here it is!" he yelled, pulling out a massive automatic firing Gatling gun.

Frenzy and Rumble joined him in his quest to blast their way out. Cliffjumper fired round after round into the Aemanite machines, crippling them, and weakening the walls' support structure. Frenzy and Rumble picked off the ones he missed, though he didn't think they were crippling them…

They eventually came to a big door. Cliffjumper fired a few rounds into it.

"No use," he growled.

"Chill, we've got this," Frenzy declared, a he and Rumble activated their pile drivers. The result was a bashed down door.

Cliffjumper cocked the gun, and continued his destructive rampage. After what seemed like hours of fighting, the Aemanites seemed to retreat. It was just as well. Cliffjumper was running out of ammunition, and the three of them were just plain tired. Cliffjumper motioned for them to be quiet.

He heard something.

They crouched down on the other side of a door, and listened.

"We have lost ninety percent of our mechanical forces to these monsters! He told us earlier too, he's practically the biggest! If we can barely stand against three, what chance do we have!" The voice was gruff, and spoke with authority.

"Patience," another voice replied. This one spoke slowly, like it mulled over each word before he spoke it. "We did not give you what you needed to send you to defeat. What worries me most, is the large red one. He wears the Autobot insignia, but fights like a Decepticon. If they are too far gone, it may be better to wipe them all out."

"That's what we want to do," the first voice replied, sounding annoyed.

"Well, I suppose I have no choice. I give you the permission of the High Council of Chaar to wipe them out."

At this point, Cliffjumper had heard enough, and kicked down the door, intending to face the Aemanite. In a split second, many things happened. He saw that the Aemanite had been on video call, and Rumble took his pistol, and shot the Aemanite. Cliffjumper sighed, at Rumble's stupidity, and subspaced the Gatling, in exchange for two more pistols.

"What do we do now?" Frenzy asked.

"We find the exit, moron," Rumble retorted.

"We're on a spaceship! And this coming from the bot who just shot a guy," Frenzy sneered, motioning at the mess.

"Then we find a ship, and go home!" Cliffjumper shouted, sick of the argument.

"Not happening," and Aemanite voice hissed.

"Know what? I'm done with this, now back down or I shoot," Cliffjumper threatened, returning to subspace.

"But you're, putting your weapon away?" the Aemanite pointed out, confused. It had been joined by two others.

"What are you doing?" Rumble asked in a hushed whisper.

"You two might wanna hide. I got this from Wheeljack," Cliffjumper replied.

The twins' eyes widened in fear, as Cliffjumper pulled a cannon out of subspace that was taller than he was. They then dived for cover. Cliffjumper snorted. Wheeljack's reputation preceded him. Cliffjumper had the support for the cannon set up in nanoclicks, and aimed down the hall.

"I have no idea if it works, but eat this!" Cliffjumper yelled, and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

"I hate you Jackie," Cliffjumper mumbled. He held the cannon in place for a while, slightly hoping it would explode, and end him.

It did, but differently.

The cannon finally went off, and sent the projectile rocketing forward. The Aemanites dived out of the way, and the projectile continued through the wall, and kept going, making small explosions throughout the ship.

"I've found a path to the hangar," Cliffjumper commented.

He could've sworn he heard Wheeljack yelling, "It works!" The rest was drowned out by the roar of an engine, and the sound of gunfire.

"Our ride's here."

Cliffjumper began picking his way through the rubble towards the hangar, Frenzy and Rumble close behind, officially terrified of some Autobots. The Aemanites seemed to have mostly withdrawn, and Cliffjumper accidently offlined a machine, only to find it was fully robotic.

When they made it to the hangar, they saw Skyfire in vehicle mode, sitting behind Autobots and Decepticons alike.

"You owe me a new cannon!" Wheeljack yelled.

Frenzy and Rumble returned to Soundwave, as Cliffjumper boarded Skyfire. Soon, the rest of the bots pulled back, and they were on their way back to Earth.


	4. The Civilian

"What happened?" Skyfire asked, confused by Optimus' last statement.

"Cliffjumper has been captured by Aemanites. Do you know where they would hide a ship?" Optimus repeated himself.

"Oh, well that's bad. I'm not entirely sure if they would be in space, or on the ground. It all depends on size. The Aemanites did not have flight capabilities when we were there, so it would be hard to tell. Is Cosmos up?"

"No, but Sky Spy should be able to pick them up if they're on the ground. There are so many satellites in orbit it should go unnoticed," Optimus replied. "Thank you Skyfire."

Skyfire tilted his head to the side as Optimus exited. He worried dearly for the red Minibot, but wasn't sure if they would find him alive. It depended on how much the Aemanites knew about Cybertronian advancements and anatomy. If they found Cliffjumper's subspace pocket, he was doomed. And as the Aemanites discovered the technology located within, the Transformers were doomed.

If he were smaller, he would go see how Prime was progressing, but he couldn't fit through the hallways without damaging something. He shouldn't be calling Perceptor, because he was absorbed in research about the Aemanites, and would hate to be disturbed. Wheeljack was attempting to replicate a cannon Cliffjumper took, and any change in radio waves could blow the whole thing. It left one option.

"Prowl?" Skyfire ventured over his Comm Link.

"Yes?" Prowl replied, sounding stressed.

"Can you see how Prime is progressing in his search with Sky Spy? I would really appreciate it."

"I will see what I can do."

Skyfire sat back, waiting.

Moments later, "Jazz here, Skyfire. Imma give you a full color commentary whether Prime likes it or not."

"Thank you," Skyfire replied. On the other end of the link, he could easily visualize Jazz's grin, and Prime groaning.

"Alright, let's see… So far, Sky Spy has scanned the North Pole, found nothing, and is somewhere over Canada. Now the Pacific. Now Russia. Now Scandinavia," Jazz vented deeply, starting to get very bored. He turned on the music from a human show called "Jeopardy", and hummed along as he listed places.

"Wait Prime!" Jazz suddenly shouted, startling Skyfire. He couldn't hear Optimus' reply, so he relied on Jazz to relay.

"Yes, I know you're annoyed, just please go somewhere over Vancouver."

Skyfire waited in silence, as he waited for the next relay.

"The Backlash Signal," Jazz whispered. "They're behind Earth's moon."

"Please explain, what is a Backlash Signal?" Skyfire asked.

"Oh, sorry 'Fire. A Backlash Signal is what happens when the radio waves Sky Spy uses are focused in one direction. Some of the waves bounce backwards, missing Sky Spy's receptors, and going behind it. When these pick up another object within close range, they bounce back to Sky Spy, like a backlash. In this case, it found the Aemanite ship. Pretty cool, huh?"

Skyfire put that down in a mental note to research more in-depth on later.

"Sorry man, I'm gonna have to sign off," Jazz remarked quickly, ending the conversation.

Half a joor later, Optimus Prime, Jazz, Prowl, and Wheeljack entered.

"We are going to pick up support, then fly to the Aemanite ship," Optimus began. "I know you don't like them, but we need to save Cliffjumper."

Skyfire sighed, as he folded into his vehicle mode. After the four bots boarded, he took off into the sky. At Prime's direction, he hovered over the Decepticon base, while the Decepticons Megatron and Soundwave boarded.

"Why isn't Starscream among you?" Skyfire asked, as he climbed higher into the sky.

"He was too much of a coward to face you," Megatron replied. Skyfire wasn't inclined to inquire more, but Megatron's haughty tone spoke differently.

As they exited the stratosphere, they saw the ship in its full glory.

But it didn't attack.

Instead, they saw an explosion chaining through the ship.

"Woo-hoo! It worked!" Wheeljack shouted, throwing a fist in the air. Apparently he recognized it. Then Skyfire remembered, it must be that cannon.

Skyfire landed unrestricted, at least, until he was noticed. Machines began attacking from all sides, and Skyfire stayed behind the other bots in vehicle mode. Soon, Cliffjumper, Frenzy, and Rumble emerged.

"You owe me a new cannon!" Wheeljack yelled.

Frenzy and Rumble transformed into cassettes, and returned to Soundwave, as Cliffjumper and the others boarded.

"Megatron, I have an idea," Optimus began. "I feel we should be able to monitor each other's activities in order to assist communication. I propose we switch our best officers to advise on both sides."

"It at least sounds reasonable," Megatron replied. "Soundwave, would you be willing?"

Soundwave nodded.

"How about you Prowl?" Optimus asked his second-in-command.

"Not really, but fine."

Skyfire was only mildly surprised that Optimus picked Prowl, and that Prowl accepted.

"So, Cliffjumper. What information were you able to uncover?"

"I've heard some pretty strange things there. Apparently the Aemanites were given the technology by someone from the planet of Chaar. I don't know who they are, or what they want, but they're from Chaar. Also, I managed to convince them that I was as big as they come."

Cliffjumper was forced to pause as the laughter, mostly coming from Jazz and Wheeljack, drowned him out.

"Why would you do that?" Megatron snapped.

"So they design their machines to fight smaller bots. It'll make 'em easier to defeat. I think they'll interpret your size as an Omega Sentinel or something. Also, one last thing. Something I discovered that may not be very good, though I did throw a wrench in their plans.

That ship was a scout ship."


End file.
